Penn State extends postseason streak, preps for NCAA Tournament opener

Penn State women’s soccer will host Stony Brook at Jeffrey Field on Saturday, November 16, at 6:30 p.m., in the first round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament. This will be the 13th season in 14 years that the Nittany Lions will host a first-round game, the only exception being the exclusively neutral site matchups during the 2020-21 tournament. 

The Nittany Lions women’s soccer program has been one of the most successful teams in school history since its creation in 1994. Penn State has made every NCAA Tournament since the program’s second year, now totaling 30 in a row. That streak is good for second all-time in the sport, behind only the North Carolina Tar Heels dynasty, which has made every NCAA Tournament since its inception in 1982.

Penn State earns a tough bracket draw

© Chris Eutsler / Basic Blues Nation, 2024.

The Nittany Lions earned a No. 4 seed in the Florida State regional of this year’s NCAA Tournament. Penn State women’s soccer will enter the tournament with a strong RPI, ranking No. 8 in the country. That’s partly due to playing multiple tournament teams in the Big Ten, which has 10 teams featured in the bracket, as well as a strong non-conference schedule.

The region will feature top-seeded, defending National Champions Florida State, which has won three of the last six titles and made the College Cup in five of those six seasons. On the other end of the region will be women’s soccer powerhouse North Carolina, which has won 21 of the 42 NCAA titles ever played.

It’s been a relatively strong season for the Nittany Lions in a reshaped Big Ten, but Penn State will have to dig deeper for a few more weeks if it hopes to make a postseason run. 

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